Creative Spurt

A couple weeks ago we had yet another DTS graduation. Even though the group was small, it was probably one of the best groups are students we have had since Mario and I assumed the leadership of the base. We were very proud to see this team of young people receive their diplomas. To our joy, 5 of them will be staying with us to do another second level school called "ETD" which will begin in August. "ETD" is a 6 month school to train students in discipleship as leaders.

We are very exited about all that is happening in the different ministries. In August we will be receiving a young Canadian named Josh who will be completing a 6 month internship with us to receive credit toward his global studies degree. He will be helping us in our next English school, which many people are already signed up to take beginning in September. I will be his mentor while he is here helping him  learn Portuguese.

July is always a "slow"month on the base because it is our semester break. I put slow in quotations because for us it is never slow….a couple days ago Mario and I cleared out Lucas' room to finally get to the reformation we had been postponing until this time. 

Unfortunately I forgot to take "before"pictures of the pealing and cracked walls, but you can have a good idea of the mess it was by what you see here:

The worst part is the ceiling which is cracked from one end to the other due to some really strong winds we had a few months ago (the window was open and caused the damage before we had time to close it). It's hard to see in the picture, but check out the hole that was left by a piece of dry wall (I think that's what it's called) that feel off.

On a happier note, I decided to take advantage of the mess the house was anyway to pull out some projects that I have been wanting to get to work on…I had been saving up some old jeans that people didn't want and decided to make a rag quilt for Lucas.

The  first step was cutting a whole bunch of squares...

Then I laid them out into a design I liked and began sewing the rows together...

Half way done with the jeans part, I still want to put a backing of another material on the back to make it soft and give it a nice clean finish.

I chose to use parts of the jeans with the pockets just to make it unique and interesting.

Maybe Lucas can put his stuffed animals in the pockets or hide something...

Speaking of stuffed animals let me introduce Mr. bunny to you…I made him for Lucas when I was still pregnant. Today it is his favorite toy which he takes on all his travels and sleeps with every night. In the morning when I pick him out of his crib he grabs bunny and insists that I kiss it before I take Lucas out. It's super cute.

I was very entertained making the quilt and forgot the hour. I was brought back to reality with a tug on my shirt and Lucas holding out another tangerine saying: "Peez" (which means, please peal this for me, I'm hungry!!)

Just then I realized it was 11:45 and the sink looked like this:

So it was time to drop my project and go back to my mommy duties. I made a quick lunch and put the quilt scraps away. Hopefully it won't be too long before I am able to get back to my quilt and finish it!

Since we live out in the country, I have always encouraged Lucas to explore all aspects of nature. Animals, plants, insects, you name it…I hope this does not backfire on me, but for now, it's cute to watch him get excited about every tiny bug he sees: Yesterday we were exploring in the grass and found this little guy:

Lucas was proudly displaying his new friend as "mamae" took pictures. 

I always find time to go for walks around the base so he can greet everyone and have some fun outside.

His favorite play spot lately is the construction site, which by the way is coming out nicely…slowly but steadily. 

They just began pouring the cement on what will be the kitchen floor.

Here's a side view of the building by where the kitchen will be.

Here's the view from the front. Eventually there will be a wall covering this angle because it is the side that is next to the soccer field.

Back at home after our exploration…Time for a nice bath and nap!

At the beginning of this year we had a huge blessing come our way…Asphalt on our main road! Last year at this time (dry season) the dust was almost suffocating us at the base from so many cars and trucks racing by on the loose dirt, by early evening the dirt would form a cloud that sometimes covered everything- we could even taste it!

Unfortuntaly, it was a mixed blessing. From what we've counted this is the 8th accident that has happened on our fence. Our land begins right in a very steep curve on the road and with the asphalt people don't slow down fast enough and hit our fence posts. Three days ago Mario took these pictures:

Two young guys on a motorcycle going way too fast on the curve. Luckily they were not badly injured. One had a broken arm with exposed fracture and the other a big cut on his head.

 A couple weeks ago we found out the main reason why they were happening so frequently lately. As Mario and I were coming home from church on a Sunday night we saw two small lights right at the place where most of the accidents were happening and when Mario got closer we realized they were burning candles left next to an "offering"to demons. We prayed canceling all witch craft that had been done there and went home. We were reminded that the enemy wants to do everything he can to discourage us in our ministry and make us quit. Many people around us do not understand what we are doing and want us out, but our fight is not against flesh and blood, it is against the principalities of the spiritual world and we must always be prepared to take a stand and be firm in him who makes us more than conquers…our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!